Vision Series 2017

I took this photo back in 2007.

There's a bunch of photos of the only one I took in 2007.

But this one, and there's another one there, it's Galatian National Park.

It's on the edge of the Canadian Rockies.

I, Natalie, who was pregnant at the time, that little thing,

and two other people, that little thing's now called Isabel,

so we're about to go on a hike, and discovering it wasn't going to be an easy stroll.

We looked at where we'd come ahead, and we're like,

it's going to be a little bit hard, I think.

The trail was narrow, the trail was steep, the ground under our feet was standing loose.

Now, I've done a little bit of hiking in my time.

I used to work for the National Parks and Wildlife Service in New South Wales.

Many years ago, one of my jobs was to build, to maintain walking tracks,

which meant that I had to walk among those walking tracks.

One of the principles I had in building a walking track was,

if I'm going to make this thing, and I'm going to have to maintain this thing,

they're going to make it easy to maintain it.

So, which means it's going to be wide, I'm going to be able to ride cod bikes up and down this track,

it's going to be as level as we possibly can,

go the long way around to make it an easy terrain, rather than up the side of the hill.

That kind of principle was a thing I even managed to convince,

my immediate supervisor to buy a little bulldozer for me,

so I could just drive through the bush, rather than having to use axes and stuff like that.

And, yeah, there you go, there's your trail.

So, this day in Canada, when I looked at this, it wasn't so much the effort,

even though I realised there was a little bit more effort involved in hiking this one,

what worried me was the reading material that I had on the way to the hike.

As we drove to the head of the trail, I was reading up on some park information,

you know, like a collection of National Park newspaper kind of thing that I picked up in the information centre.

And in the middle of this was a whole lift-out section on how to survive

the many animals that are going to try and kill you as you go for a walk in the National Park.

And, you know, in Australia, worst-case scenario is a snake.

You know, and they're trying to get away with an awesome, you know,

rampant, you know, koala who's got some of their endeavor against people.

Now, apart from that,

there's not so many other worries in this country to go for a hike.

But in this section, it's got advice on cougars.

Be careful, cougars, mountain lions.

What they do is they pick out their target,

they stalk you for some time,

and then they jump on you from behind and from above.

They, you know, wait for you to get through some sort of ravine,

then leap on you from behind.

It's like, before you know it,

your face is getting caught off by some cougar.

And it's like, fantastic.

Okay, so leave the cougars aside.

There's the black bears.

And it says, the advice here is,

if it's a black bear you're confronted with,

you've got to make yourself look really big and yell at me.

Yell, yell, yell.

And that will generally freak them out

and they'll run away, hopefully.

But don't mistake the black bear for the grizzly bear.

You do good to the grizzly bear,

and the grizzly bear will assure it's a challenge on its territory

and it will immediately attack you.

And so here's the advice being attacked by a grizzly bear.

Now, it's really awful advice.

You're meant to remain calm.

Okay, that's the first tip.

Right, tip.

You're meant to lay down as if you are dead

in a fetal position

and you're meant to time the attack.

Hang on a bit there.

Click.

Go.

Right, okay.

If it gets to two minutes,

if the bear's been chewing on your leg for two minutes,

apparently that means it's a serious attack.

Okay, it's serious at that moment

and it means that if it's still going for two minutes,

then it's likely to keep going.

And so right now is the time to,

now that it's got your leg,

now it's the plan to fight back.

Right, I reckon it's a bit late, that advice.

But that's how you handle grizzly bears.

Apparently they just get sick of you

and eventually walk away.

On most cases,

except a lot of people are being killed by grizzly bears.

But anyway,

now it says there

you have to be particularly careful

when there's a grizzly bear with cubs.

They're especially aggressive

when they have their cubs with them,

something to do with sleep deprivation

or something like that.

And so,

on this particular day,

ask him,

she knows what it's like.

Ask him.

On this particular day,

you turn up to this track

and you find this sign

on the front of the trails

where the female grizzly

with two cubs

on this track

the day before.

And you're going,

do we walk?

Do we not walk?

You know,

what do we do here?

Apparently,

getting a bit of information like that

means that you must be prepared.

You must prepare

for what's about to come.

And the recommendation

to be prepared

in this scenario

is to have a can

of bear spray with you.

Now,

I've got a can

of fly spray in my office.

It's about this big.

I've got a can

of wasp spray in my office.

It's about this big.

So you can imagine

the size

the bear spray is.

And it's

some sort of pepper spray

kind of thing.

It apparently distracts

it enough

and blinds

if you're going to run away

or something like that.

But we didn't have

any bear spray.

All we had

was some hair spray

and

seriously,

that's all we can come up with.

And so

we had this hair spray

and so my friend's going,

let's make it a flame fry.

So I had a box of matches.

He's sprayed

and we're trying to make this,

you know,

six matches

we'd went out

and spizzle

with it.

You know,

we couldn't make this

thing work

into a flame fry.

So instead

I got a big stick

and then we went.

We're not at high.

But as we walked

on that walk

constantly looking around

for cougars,

wolverines,

black bears,

you know,

grizzly bears

and anything else

that would make the grass

and the trees rustle.

You see,

it's crucial

to know

what to expect

on a hike like that

in order to be prepared.

Which is what we're about to do

for the next six weeks.

We're going to have

a walk with Jesus

in Luke's Gospel.

That's the same way.

We're going to have

a walk with Jesus

in Luke's Gospel

because that's what

Jesus is doing.

In Luke,

he is in

chapter 9,

he is starting

a walk to Jerusalem.

And this walk,

Jesus makes it clear

to his disciples

and to us,

this is not

an easy journey.

This walk

you're about to go on

is a dangerous walk,

it's a hard walk

and yet it's a walk

that he calls us

on to with him.

He calls us

to come with him

on this one.

And this is a crucial

one for us

as a church,

as I said,

I look forward

to Vision Series

every year.

In watching

Vision 2020,

which is the

ministry agenda

which shapes us

as a church,

I did it back

in 2009,

I said then

and I've repeated

a number of times

since 2009,

my intention

was to lead us

as a church

into a new era

of significant

personal sacrifice

for the glory

of God

in the mission

field

in the chief spaces

in our time.

And our Vision Series

is a time

every year

when I call us

as a church

and I do it myself,

I've been working

on this myself

for a number

of months already,

getting ready

for this

in its various forms

and what God

has placed

in my heart

especially

in the last month

realises

what He's calling

me to

and the same

He's calling you to

is to die

a little more

in order to live

a little more.

It's trying to give up

some more.

This is what we do

every Christmas here

to call us

as a church

to give up some more,

to surrender some more,

to commit to Jesus

some more,

to obey Jesus

some more

and to find

more freedom

and more joy

in Him

as you do that.

My call back

in 2009

is the same

as what it is

today.

May we

as a church

tremble,

tremble

not that the price

is too high

to pursue

the glory of God

in Chatswood

but that our vision

to do so

is way too small.

May that be our trembling.

that our vision

for God's glory

is too small.

I don't want to ever

get into the presence

of God

and for Him

to say,

see what are you thinking?

If you ask

for 10,000

I wouldn't give you

a 10,000.

Our purpose,

our vision,

our values

and cause

cause us

to be radical

disciples

of the Lord Jesus.

Now the word

disciple there

which is

deliberate,

using the word

disciple

as opposed

to Christian

here.

The word

Christian

has context

in terms

of our culture

and I'm a Christian

as opposed

to a Muslim

or my family

and I'm just

Christian.

It doesn't

necessarily

carry the way

it used to

but the word

disciple does.

It means

that we are

students

of the Lord

Jesus.

More specifically

what it means

is we are

under the

discipline

of the Lord

Jesus.

That's what

discipleship means.

We trust

him,

we obey

him.

When he

calls us

we do

what he

calls us

to do.

We don't

negotiate

with him

and my

concern

for myself

my concern

for you

my concern

for us

as a church

is that

those who

claim

to be

disciples

of the

Lord

Jesus

would not

provoke

him to

say

as he

does

in Luke

646

why do

you call

me

Lord

Lord

and do

not do

what I

say?

I don't

want to

provoke

Christ

to utter

those

words

again

of us.

The word

radical

comes from

the Latin

word

radical

which means

a root

it's a

word

that is

applied

to those

whose

ideas

or attitudes

or behaviours

go to the

core of the

issue

or to the

root of the

issue

and it

displays

a thorough

going

commitment.

That's why

we're using

the word

radical

this year

that's what

the whole

theme

for this

vision

series

is

and we

see it

as we

go into

Luke

Luke 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9

so get

the Bibles

and the

service

sheets

open

we're

beginning

in Luke

9

this is

a major

turning point

in Luke's

gospel

for the

10 chapters

that follow

Luke 9

Jesus

is walking

a trail

he's on a

hike

he's heading

to Jerusalem

and Jerusalem

the destination

now looms

large

in Jesus

thoughts

it rises

ominously

over

everything

that follows

for Jesus

every word

he owes

it stands

taller

and taller

and taller

with each

event

from here

to the

middle

of

chapter

19

and so

notice

verse 51

as the

time

approached

for him

to be

taken up

to heaven

Jesus

resolutely

set out

for Jerusalem

the rawness

of Luke's

words here

communicate

the intensity

of this

moment

for Jesus

it's quite

literally

he stiffens

his face

to go

to Jerusalem

he sets

his eyes

he will

not be

distracted

he will

not be

diverted

one bit

Jerusalem's

the destination

for him

and along

the way

to Jerusalem

Jesus

educates

his would-be

followers

on the

demands

of the road

lessons

on what

it will

mean

to effectively

set our

face

to Jerusalem

with him

and these

chapters

the next

10 chapters

are fiercely

radical

they're

scary

actually

possibly

even

discouraging

even

in the

verses

today

you kind

of think

Jesus

are you

trying to

discourage

me

from being

a follower

and so

it is

very important

from the

outset

for us

to resist

the temptation

to tame

these

chapters

to make

his teaching

sound more

reasonable

to tone

him down

these are

hard words

but important

words

you see

when I hear

inexperienced

Christians

confidently

assert

that they

will follow

Christ

no matter

what the

cost

I feel

both

pleasure

and

concern

they've

experienced

new life

in Christ

forgiveness

release

from guilt

expansive

joy

and so

it's natural

to say

I know

where I've

come from

I don't

go back

there

and so

for me

as a

Christian

and as

someone

as a

Christian

minister

such talk

thrills me

when I hear

people make

those declarations

but it also

fills me with a

sense of

apprehension

because it's

also naive

a naive

presumption

that one

can follow

Christ

by the

simple

assertion

of the

will

invites

a rude

awakening

I'm

much more

comfortable

when I hear

a believer

say

I know

I can't

do it

alone

there is

a big

big battle

it's going

to be a

daily battle

for me

to follow

Christ

but by

God's

gracious

enabling

my history

I'm going

to throw

myself into

it

much more

confident

with that

you see

presumption

is always

dangerous

for anyone

who follows

Christ

many have

fallen

along the

way

because

they have

not understood

what it means

to be

disciples of

Christ

they have

understood

the concept

of picking

out the

cross

and following

him

some have

fallen

because

this is

predominantly

in the

western world

in the

western church

many have

signed up

to a

distortion

of

Christianity

a

moralistic

therapeutic

deism

in other

words

what that

means is

they believe

that Christianity

means that they

should work

hard to be

good people

they believe

that Christianity

or that God

exists to serve

them by helping

them

God's job for

them in their

life is to

make them feel

happy and good

and secure

and at peace

and we know

that's the case

because every time

God takes one of

those things away

from me or challenges

me on those things

I get angry with

it

so we just assume

God's job in

my life is to

make things go

well for me

and they

believe that

even though

God made the

world

he's only

active and

involved in

my life

when I

need to

resolve a

problem

for me

the rest of

the time

you pretty

much

is to get

out of the

way and

let me get

on with

life with

my agenda

and so

it's essential

for us to

understand

Jesus'

mission

if we

understand

what it

means to

follow him

so let's

take a look

at that first

what the

journey to

Jerusalem

meant for

Jesus

he resolutely

sets his face

there

so what is it

about this

journey

what it

means for

him

because if we

can understand

what it

means for

him

we're in a

better place

to understand

what it

means for

us to be

followers of

him

now early

in Luke 9

as Jesus

prepared to

set out for

Jerusalem from

Galilee

he explained

it to his

disciples

in verse 22

he said

the son of

man must

supplement

things

and be

rejected by

the elders

the chief

priests

and he must

be killed

and on the

third day

raised

of life

and then

in verse

44 he

told them

listen carefully

to what I'm

about to tell

you

the son of

man is

going to

betray

in the

hands of

many

and yet

verse 45

tells us

the disciples

were still

ignorant

they did

not

understand

clearly

what they

thought Jesus

was on

about

was flawed

their

misunderstanding

of his

mission

results in

a misunderstanding

of what it

means to

follow

Jesus

he didn't

understand

first of

all that

Jesus

mission

was in

fact

about

mercy

and

grace

not

about

judgment

notice

verse 52

he sent

messengers

on ahead

who went

into

Samaritan

village

to get

things

ready

for him

but the

people

there

did not

work in

him

because

he was

heading

for

Jerusalem

he's

only

just

started

he's

like

the

trailhead

on his

way

to

Jerusalem

and

he's

already

being

rejected

it is

the only

sign

of what

is about

to come

Jesus

rejected

all the way

to Jerusalem

and

when he

arrives in

Jerusalem

rejection

is the

pattern

for Jesus

and it's

the pattern

for those

who have

followed

Jesus

James

and

John

however

the two

sons

of

the

to

discover

see

the

rejection

and so

in verse

54

here's

their

response

Lord

we want

us to

pull down

fire from

heaven

to

destroy

them

Jesus

a few

drones

and smart

bombs

would

wipe

this

village

out

be

done

with

it

and

they

would

be

sarcastic

they

would

dare

be

serious

they

were

not

naive

they

were

not

joking

you

see

they

remembered

2

Kings

1

which

records

how the

apostate

king

Ahaziah

twice

sent soldiers

to take

Elijah

and the

apostles

saw

Jesus

as an

Elijah

figure

and

twice

in

2

Kings

the

prophet

Elijah

said

if I

am a

man

of

God

may

fire

come

down

from

heaven

and

consume

you

and

your

fifty

men

and

it

did

twice

and

the

disciples

memories

are

great

you

think

away

here's

an

opportunity

Jesus

here's

an

opportunity

to get

a fire

come

down

burn

this

village

and

from

here

to

Jerusalem

everyone

know

don't

mess

with

us

Jesus

is

like

a

son

see

in there

rush

to call

for

God's

judgment

the

apostles

had

chosen

to

ignore

Jesus

example

and

teaching

Luke

4

reveals

that

both

James

and

John

heard

Jesus

say

but

I

tell

you

who

hear

me

love

your

enemies

be good

to those

who hate

you

bless

those

who curse

you

pray

for

those

who

mistreat

you

and

they

had

seen

those

words

fleshed

out

in the

life and

ministry

of Jesus

in a

thousand

ways

so as

Jesus

goes

to five

turns

on

your

response

just

refutes

them

idiots

you see

a wrong

view

of what

Jesus

is on

about

is a

wrong

view

of what

it means

to

fight

him

wrong

expectation

of what

it means

to fight

him

if

Jesus

had come

to execute

judgment

and take

up

residence

in the

palace

in Jerusalem

then it

would make

total sense

for the

sons of

thunder to

call for

judgment

in that

way

but if

Jesus

had come

instead

not to

judge

but to

save

then a

radically

different

form of

following

is in

order

and the

answer

of the

whole

new

testament

is that

the

surprise

the surprise

about

Jesus

is that

he denied

himself

he came

to live

a sacrificial

life

dying

service

before

he comes

a second

time to

reign

in the

way

he comes

and divests

himself

gives

himself

puts

his

life

and dies

for

his

enemies

and he

reigns

now

the

Lord

resurrected

reigns

in

glory

you see

Jesus'

mission

is one

of mercy

and grace

and salvation

for

humanity

and Jesus

made it

explicit

when in

Mark 10

he says

for even

the son

of man

did not

come to

be served

but to

serve

and give

his life

as a ransom

for many

or there's

John 3

16

17

for God

so loved

the world

that he gave

his one

and only

son

that whoever

believes

in him

should not

perish

but have

eternal life

for God

did not send

his son

into the world

to condemn

the world

but to

save the

world

through

him

so

what did

it mean

for

Jesus

he

resolutely

sets

his face

to

Jerusalem

in

order to

surrender

his life

for the

salvation

of

sinners

it was a

death that

was vindicated

when he

rose again

on the

third day

and now

reigns in

glory

and the

surprise

here for

the disciples

following

Jesus

demands

a life

of denying

self

in sacrificial

service

before we

with Christ

reign

in glory

that's a

surprise

for the

disciples

what that

means

is

for the

disciples

of Jesus

walking

with him

following

him

what Jesus

demands

is a

life

of

commitment

a

life

of

commitment

for those

who

follow

him

you see

what

James

and John

had to

learn

what we

must

all

learn

is that

Jesus

path to

Jerusalem

is our

journey to

Jerusalem

if he

set his

face

to go

there and

die

we must

set our

face

to die

to ourselves

with him

we die

as he

does

that's why

he calls

us to

take up

our cross

and follow

him

which he

made

explicit

in Luke

9

23

24

if anyone

would come

after me

he must

deny

himself

take up

his cross

daily

and follow

me

whoever

wants to

save his

life will

lose it

but whoever

loses

his life

for me

will save

it

we seek

to secure

our life

through

returning evil

for evil

or surrounding

ourselves

with luxury

in the face

of human

need

and the

billions of

lost people

on this

planet

who don't

know Christ

are about

to enter

into a

crisis

with eternity

as 55

million people

do

over here

in

feyed

belt

and

eternal

courses

if we're

blind to

that need

as we

surround

ourselves

in luxury

Jesus

says here

really clearly

you will

lose your

life

when Jesus

set his

face to

walk the

Calvary

road

he was

not merely

taking our

place

he was

setting our

pattern

he is not

just our

substitute

he is also

our

case setter

and so

verses

56

62

are

Jesus

way

of

correcting

James

and John's

misconceptions

about the

glories of

following him

three times

here we

read what

it means

to be a

disciple of

Jesus

what it

means to

be a

Christian

three times

the word

follow

as Jesus

goes

so we

follow

by him

that's

what it

means to

be a

disciple

and the

first

would be

follow

Jesus

is there

in verse

57

as they

were walking

along the

road

a man

said to

him

I will

follow

you

wherever

you

go

Jesus

replied

foxes

of holes

and birds

in the

air

have

nests

the son

of man

has no

place

to lay

his head

for the

first thing

to be

with Jesus

is going

to result

in hardship

at least

for now

it's

interesting

I think

that our

priorities

often reveal

an attitude

that says

I will

follow you

Jesus

provide you

give me

a successful

healthy

luxurious

secure

comfortable

life

if you

provide all

that stuff

then I

follow you

you ever

stop doing

the things

that I

expect you

to do

and then

I'm going

to get

cross

with you

if I

start

with faith

in you

start turning

back

looking for

alternatives

so these

here words

are strong

words for

Jesus

he meant

that at

times

those

who

follow

him

would

literally

be

homeless

he meant

it quite

literally

they would

undergo

immense

discomfort

Jesus

was saying

that if you

walk with

him

you

by the

power of

the Holy

Spirit

will sense

that the

world is

not your

home

there

will

be

dissonance

and

discomfort

and

disharmony

and

unease

and

rejection

no

one

who commits

to following

Christ

and does

so

and follows

Christ

lives

a life

of

ease

no

no

exceptions

if

your

Christianity

has not

brought

discomfort

to your

life

something

is wrong

the great

John

Stott

wrote that

in one

of his

books

if there's

no sense

of fight

no sense

of battle

no sense

of hardship

associated

with your

discipleship

the Lord

Jesus

don't be

too quick

to call

yourself

a disciple

the Lord

Jesus

there's

something

drastically

wrong

a committed

heart

knows the

discomfort

of loving

difficult

people

the

discomfort

of

giving

until

it

hurts

the

discomfort

of

putting

oneself

out

for the

ministry

of

Christ

and

his

church

the

discomfort

of a

life

out of

step

with

modern

culture

or even

the

traditional

culture

that I've

been brought

up in

the

discomfort

of being

disliked

even the

occasional

sense

of having

nowhere

to lay

your head

but Christ

is greater

Christ

is greater

than anything

that we

lose

second

we

follow

Jesus

in

verse

59

he

said

another

man

followed

me

the

man

replied

first let me

go and bury

my father

Jesus

said to

him

that the

dead

bury

their own

dead

but you

go and

claim the

kingdom

of God

you see a

follower of

Jesus

needs to

really

sense

the

urgency

of what

they're being

called to

again

really tough

words here

from Jesus

how could

he tell

a would-be

follower to

neglect the

burial of

his dead

father

now I

understand

that we

need to

take a

little bit

closer look

at the

text here

the man

did not

say his

father was

dead but

only let me

go and bury

my father

you see if

in fact in

that culture

the first city